Houlton staying positive

In case anyone important had forgotten about him, 51s right-hander D.J. Houlton is throwing out a reminder that he's still around and would welcome some attention again.

Houlton passed out his business card Tuesday night at Cashman Field, and it read: Former major league pitcher with positive attitude, call anytime.

"I knew I had to change something in the offseason, mainly my attitude," he said. "I'm happy right now and I'm in a good state of mind."

Houlton was superb for seven innings, allowing only three hits and one walk while striking out seven to carry Las Vegas to a 5-0 victory over Colorado Springs before a crowd of 2,368.

The 51s (8-4) led 2-0 after six innings and gave Houlton a parting gift when Choo Freeman hit a three-run homer in the seventh.

In his third start, Houlton upped his record to 2-0 and lowered his ERA to 1.62.

"Even though he made it look easy, he was still pitching in a pressure-type game," Las Vegas manager Lorenzo Bundy said.

Matt White finished the game and stretched the 51s' streak of scoreless innings pitched to 17 2/3.

Houlton, 27, spent the entire 2005 season with the Los Angeles Dodgers and went 6-9 with a 5.16 ERA in 35 games, including 19 starts.

But he started and finished last year in Las Vegas, never getting a sniff from the major leagues. He led all Dodgers minor leaguers in starts (29) and innings pitched (162 1/3) yet failed to impress with a 9-11 record, 5.60 ERA and a negative mind-set.

Drinking a bottle of Corona after the game, Houlton showed no sign of a bitter beer face Tuesday.

"I was just frustrated not going up and not getting a chance last year," he said. "I kind of had a bad attitude. It was tough to come here and I was struggling, and it all snowballed on me.

"I tried to come in here with a positive attitude, and it's working for me."

Houlton said he realized he was "fading off" the Dodgers' radar last year. He rebounded with a strong spring, working daily on his mechanics with 51s pitching coach Ken Howell.

Houlton located his fastball on both sides of the plate and mixed in a curve to suffocate the Sky Sox (2-8).

While winning eight of their past nine games, the 51s have benefited from dominant pitching, especially from starters Houlton, Joe Mays, Greg Miller and Eric Stults.

Mays, Stults and Houlton each threw seven innings in their most recent starts.

Bundy has not been quick to look to his bullpen. He's pushing his starters to work through their problems, though Houlton coasted for most of his outing.

"We're trying to develop starting pitching for the big leagues," Bundy said, "and we're trying to get guys to go deep in the ballgame."

• NOTE -- Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp is scheduled to begin a rehabilitation assignment in Las Vegas today. Kemp, batting .429 in five games for Los Angeles, suffered a mild separation to his right shoulder on April 9.